Upgrading

While I wish I could have just awakened my old computer to make it more powerful, the prospect of its wanting to eat human guts outweighed the benefits. So, I got a new computer. Most of you already know, but for those who don't, here are the specs:

CPU:Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz: Pretty good CPU, not the top of the line, but it's pretty close.

Motherboard: EVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI: Originally, I had chosen an Intel board, but it does not support SLI (does support crossfire).

Memory: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800: My previous machine only had 1 gig of ram. It took forever to "verify client data' during BF2 matches, easily meaning the difference between successfully taking airfield and being farmed by J-10s. This deal was too good to pass up, 2 gigs of ram for $71.00 ($40 mail in rebate)!!

Video Cards: 2x MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC GeForce 8600GTS 256MB: This is probably going overboard, but I just wanted to try out SLI. Ever since I heard about it, I was curious as to how much better it was over 1 card. Time to find out!

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG SpinPoint 400GB 7200RPM SATA: 400 gigs should be more than enough for whatever I need.

Case: Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Aluminum ATX: I originally had chosen a Lian-Li case but Lemon had some doubts as to if there was enough room in it to fit 2 video cards so I upgraded. I really like this case, it comes with screwless drive rails, and backplates. Almost every part detaches for ease of installation. On nitpick is that the motherboard tray doesn't come out but it didn't make the installation any tougher.

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W PS: With SLI, I was pretty sure I needed something greater than 500. This one wasn't as expensive as the other power supplies, but it received very favorable reviews.

Monitors: 2x ViewSonic Optiquest Series Q20WB Black 20" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD: While I may have had a semi-legitimate reason for SLI, these 2 monitors were just completely frivolous. I really have no excuse as to why I got 2, other than the fact that I like 2 monitors.

Other random stuff: Generic Floppy, Black NEC DVDR

The total price tag including shipping came out to be just a bit under $1,700. Assuming I get all my mail in rebates ($200), the total price is: $1,500. I probably could have gotten some items cheaper if I shopped around a bit more, but I think it's not too bad. My hope is that this computer will last another 4 years or so like my last one.